Reply #4: Navy Times....

[Joanne98]

Stennis group could leave early for gulf deployment
Extra strike group presence would send message to Iran

By William H. McMichael and Christopher P. Cavas
Staff writers



The aircraft carrier John C. Stennis, shown here during pre-deployment training earlier this year, could be sent to the Middle East as soon as the first week of January. — MC3 Paul Perkins, Navy

The aircraft carrier John C. Stennis and its strike group are preparing to leave for the Persian Gulf as soon as the first week of January if ordered to do so, Pentagon sources say.

The surge deployment would serve as a show of force aimed at demonstrating that despite its occupation of Iraq, the U.S. could strike a troublesome Iran. The U.S. and the United Nations want to sanction Iran over its continued efforts to enrich uranium and what the U.S. says is continued furtive support for insurgents fighting in Iraq.

The Bremerton, Wash.-based Stennis, Carrier Air Wing 9 and the rest of the strike group have completed pre-deployment training and were scheduled to deploy in late January, officials said. A Pentagon source said the deployment could be moved up several weeks.

If the group deploys early, it could be in the gulf within several weeks, allowing it to overlap there for as many as two months with the Norfolk, Va.-based Dwight D. Eisenhower CSG, which deployed Oct. 3 on a seven-month cruise. It entered the gulf Dec. 11, according to the 5th Fleet.

http://www.navytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-2438831.php

It's a message sending operation...